Faire La Cuisine
by La Marelle
Summary: Among many other things, he was an excellent cook, and he had introduced Serena to so many Kalosian delicacies that she had never even heard of before, let alone tried. She wanted to return the favour. It was only after she had boiled over the carrots and extinguished the flame of the stovetop, almost gassing all of them, that Serena realised that she was rubbish at cooking.


"_Oh dammit!"_

Looking down into the saucepan that was placed precariously on the edge of the stovetop, Serena frowned in indignation. The béchamel sauce that she'd been trying to create had certainly not turned out as she expected. Instead of the light yellow roux that she had been attempting, the saucepan was full of a dark, congealed mess; the flour and butter had burnt and formed a black, solid lump. She heard a small clearing of a throat behind her, and she jumped slightly, hiding the saucepan guiltily behind her back.

"Are you sure that you do not want any help, ma bichette?"

The Professor sat at the small table in the corner of the kitchen. Her Braixen stood contentedly at his side, his chin resting on the Professors lap. His eyes closed blissfully as Augustine's agile fingers scratched him behind his ears. The professor himself had his eyebrows raised in question as he tilted his head to the side in an attempt to see what she was trying so desperately to hide.

"_No_, Augustine. I just- It's fine. I'm just not very happy with this one. I- I'm starting again," She snapped at him, trying frantically to conceal her embarrassment as she scraped the stubborn black mess out of the pan and into the rubbish bin, all the while hiding it from the Professors view.

She had simply wanted to do something nice for the man that was constantly doing nice things for her without even a hint of hesitation. Serena had lost track of the amount of nights they'd both come home from a hard days work, too exhausted to even change out of their clothes, yet Augustine would always push himself up from the couch heavily, and wander into the kitchen to make them a dinner that was nothing short of amazing. Among many other things, he was an excellent cook, and he had introduced Serena to so many Kalosian delicacies that she had never even heard of before, let alone tried. She wanted to return the favour.

It was only after she had boiled over the carrots and extinguished the flame of the stovetop, almost gassing all of them, that Serena realised that she was rubbish at cooking.

Dumping the blackened saucepan into the sink slightly more forcibly than was necessary, Serena scowled at it as she filled it with water to allow it to soak. The apartment now smelt unmistakably like charcoal and from the way Braixen was sniffing the air haughtily, she knew that Augustine would be able to detect it as well. Letting out a defeated sigh, Serena turned off the tap and rounded on the painfully handsome man that watched her, his eyes dancing with mirth.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap." She breathed quietly and pressed her forehead against his.

"Ne t'inquiète pas, minette." He said with a knowing smile. "I just wish you would let me help. I do not expect you to go to such lengths for me."

"Oh, you sweet man." Serena grinned, placing a feather light kiss to his lips. "I want to. So you just sit there and enjoy it. I'm almost finished." She leaned away from him, giving Braixen a small scratch on his nose, and turned back to her cooking. Her confidence had been renewed.

It did not last long, however. Having just crammed handfuls of basil in to a food processor and drowning it in olive oil, Serena stood back slightly, her hand covering the top of it and her finger hovering over the 'pulse' button.

"Uh- pardonne-moi, ma chère." The professor began tentatively. "Only, I do not think-" But he was dismissed with a wave of Serena's hand as she pressed the button on the processor.

A loud grinding noise was emitted from the machine as green leaves and oil blended together and flew out of the top of the machine, spraying themselves all over the kitchen in a bright splatter of green paste. Too shocked to say or do anything, Serena turned to the Professor, her mouth open in shock. Her cheeks reddened with both anger and embarrassment as she noticed he was shaking with silent chuckles. The hand he had bought up to his face protected it from much of the assault. Unsurprisingly, the majority had landed on Serena and she could feel the wetness of it settling onto her face. Only adding to her horror, she realised that much of it had also landed on her Braixen. She opened her mouth again to apologise to her pokémon, but the sullen way he looked down his nose to an offending leaf of basil that was stuck there, she knew that it would take much more than an apology to get him to speak to her again. The Professor leaned down and plucked the leaf from the fox's nose with a chuckle before it turned on its heel and stormed out of the kitchen.

Serena threw her arms up in both anger and defeat, a sound resembling a growl escaping from her throat. Now not only had she completely messed up her kitchen and the dinner, but she was going to have to buy extra poképuffs in order to coax Braixen into talking to her again. She turned away so she didn't have to see the amused look the Professor wore as he stood up, wiping his dirty hand on a tea towel and approached her.

"Mais, c'est la première règle de cuisiner, mon cœur:" He gently chastised and leaned around her, picking up a smooth, round object from the kitchen counter. The lid of the blender, Serena realised with disappointment. "Always put the lid on before you blend."

The scowl on Serena's face deepened at his words. Though nothing about his demeanour suggested it, Serena couldn't help but feel that he was being slightly condescending. That was most likely her frustration talking, however.

"I give up." She grimaced bitterly. "I just wanted to do something nice for you, but turns out I'm just terrible at this and I'll never be as good as you."

A tut came out of Augustine's mouth as his hand came up to her face, brushing a lock of hair off of her cheek, where it had been glued to with oil.

"Please do not think like that. I have had many more years of practice than you have. It will just take time." He soothed, running a hand over her blonde hair.

"No. I'm done with it. I'm never cooking again." She crossed her arms stubbornly over her chest and looked away from his eyes that still glistened with amusement. She didn't see Augustine moving even closer to her, but instead felt his hands on her waist as he lifted her up and placed her on the kitchen bench. He placed his arms on either side of her lap, trapping her in. "Augustine, wha-?"

Augustine just shook his head in disappointment.

"Ah, but that is such a shame." He raised his head, devastation etched into his features, yet the way the corners of his mouth twitched, trying to repress a grin, betrayed his amusement. "You see, ma chère, you possess a culinary talent that I do not." Serena raised her head to look at him, her brows furrowed quizzically.

The professor raised a finger to her face and slowly wiped it across her cheek, transferring some of her failed attempt at pesto onto it. He raised the finger to his lips and sucked the sauce off of it in such a way that made a deep blush rise onto Serena's cheeks. He leaned closely into her so there was barely a breath of air between them.

"Oui, you have a very unique way of making the food you cook look très, _très délicieux_." His voice was low and husky as his eyes scanned over the mess of sauce that decorated her face. He closed the gap between them and pressed his mouth firmly against hers, a smile playing on his lips.

In the back of Serena's mind, she noted the strong taste of basil before all angry thoughts were wiped from her mind and she melted into his touch.


End file.
